A Night On the Town
by dinermodsVernal stared in awe at the sheer expanse of Mauve City as she walked its crowded streets. The bustling energy of the city was a very different atmosphere than she was used to, having arrived with her partner the prior afternoon for work.
“Of course they want us to come during the start of a festival,” the Sceptile grumbled as her head turned to the side. But doing so the green lizard’s eyes quickly widened, now noticing that she was now left alone, her partner abandoning her amongst the sea of passersby.
Her eyes darted around for any sign of her colleague. “Cass?” she called out as she craned her neck, searching for any distinct signs of anything blue.
“Dammit, where is-” the Sceptile spat before feeling a tug on her dark green cloak.
“AH!” she yelped before whipping around.
Defensively raising her claws, Vernal was more than prepared to swipe at her aggressor, but instead found herself frozen in place. In front of her stood a smiling Inteleon wearing a dark blue cloak. As Vernal’s eyes lowered from his face, her focus landed on the ice cream cones in each of his hands.
“Soooo, you don’t want any?” the tall, blue lizard teased.
“Dammit Cass,” Vernal chided as she crossed her arms. “We’re not here to sightsee.”
Caspian nonchalantly licked his cone in response, earning a long sigh from his partner.
“What flavor is it?”
The Inteleon held out one of the cones. “Your’s? Lavender.”
With a short, low grunt, Vernal grumpily accepted her partner’s offering. “You still can’t just wander off like that.”
“Yes, mother,” Caspian playfully retorted, only to be met by a roll of the Sceptile’s eyes.
As the two walked, Vernal began to think back to when she and the Caspian first met. Or rather, when they were first paired together at their guild. Gone were the days of peaceful solitude, as her new partner’s personality was rather difficult to ignore. Although, she’d be lying if she said that his quick wit and penchant for cracking jokes weren’t among his more tolerable, and admittedly charming traits. As Caspian carried one of the more positive attitudes amongst the perpetual gloom and angst of their other co-workers.
However, as much as he had grown on her, his habit of simply wandering off was starting to get old. But lavender was her favorite. And the fact he remembered stirred up a slightly darker shade of green on her face.
“Then we fileted and ate him,” Caspian said with his voice slightly raised.
Vernal coughed, unwittingly spitting out some of her ice cream.
“Welcome back. You seemed kind of out of it there.”
“Sorry about that,” the Sceptile answered, shaking herself free of her thoughts before looking straight ahead.
“So where is this place anyway?” Caspian asked.
Vernal looked around the busy street and pointed somewhere off to the side. “Somewhere over there I believe.”
The two reptiles later found themselves in front of a tavern on the corner of a block that had clearly seen better days, but the cracked bricks and splintered wood forming the outside still seemed to hold up. A sign reading ‘CLOSED’ hung clear as day on the weathered, wooden door which prompted a glance between the two would-be patrons.
“Well, you were the one who insisted on being early,” Caspian remarked before popping what was left of his cone into his mouth.
Rolling her eyes, Vernal gave the door a series of steady knocks. Nothing. Trying again, she firmly banged on the door three times before a small panel in the door slid open. Behind it was a pair of eyes framed by faded, yellow fur.
“Can’t you read? We’re closed.”
Vernal and Caspain glanced at each other before glaring at the set of eyes.
“So I see,” the Inteleon retorted as Vernal stepped closer.
“But the drinks here are best around noon.”
Hearing the Sceptile’s words, the eyes behind the door vanished as the panel slid shut. But it wasn’t long before the door quickly unlocked with a series of clicks.
As the door creaked open, the two walked inside the mostly empty bar to see a single Delphox walking behind the counter. He waved his stick at the door, using Psychic to shut and lock it.
“So, is it always this lively in here?” Caspian joked as he and Vernal sat at the counter.
“It’s is now,” the Delphox muttered, wiping out an empty mug.
After a few minutes of waiting, Vernal turned towards the door. “When are the others arriving?”
The Delphox gave a lazy shrug. “It better be soon.”
“In that case, do you have anything with a little kick to it?” Caspian asked, getting both an elbow from Vernal and a glare from the fire type in response.
After a while, a series of firm knocks against the front door got the trio’s attention, prompting the Delphox to walk towards it and slide open the small panel in the door as he did for his current patrons. “Can’t you read? We’re closed,” he said before waiting a bit.
As they watched, Caspian leaned towards the Sceptile as he leaned back against the counter. “If this is how he treats all his guests, the place might close down,” he whispered.
“Not the time,” Vernal whispered back, narrowing her gaze as the Delphox opened the door. “It’s them…”
The two lizards received short glances from the other pokemon, both of whom they recognized from their guild. A Zoroark and a Greninja. Caspian gave the two a smile while Vernal gave a bored glare.
“Why did it have to be those two?” she thought. “I guess word of our choices reached further into the guild… And here I thought we had been subtle lately.”
“I was told that this would be an important mission,” the Zoroark remarked upon seeing the pair.
Vernal pressed her lips, giving a slight roll of the eyes. “It is. And since we’re all here, I would like to be briefed on it.”
Right on queue, the Delphox waved his stick, shutting and locking the front door with Psychic before lifting the top off a nearby barrel and flipping it over. Setting it face down on the counter, he placed his stick down as the others gathered closer to look. On the underside of the lid, a partial map of the city was nailed to its surface.
“Let’s begin, shall we?” he said with a tired look in his eyes. “I don’t want to be here longer than I have to.”
Caspian wasn’t sure just how long they were all in there, but time only seemed to drag on as the Delphox spoke.
“This feels like I’m back in school,” he thought before Vernal’s hand rested atop his own.
His eyes met the Sceptile’s, but he quickly realized she wasn’t about to take his side. “And she has that look in her eyes… Now it really feels like school. Wait, no that’s weird…”
“Now,” the Delphox sternly said, pointing his stick at a map of the city. “We’ll all meet down there once the job is done. Understand?”
All eyes were on Caspian with the Delphox’s final word. He glanced at the others with a wide-eyed expression, looking like a child who had been caught in the midst of doing something they shouldn’t. “What?”
The Greninja sitting on the counter glared at him with annoyance. “The Norffas City job.”
“Any chance you’ll let that go, Lazuli?” Caspian asked, holding up his hands in a faux defensive manner. “That was four years ago. And I got out of there, didn’t I?”
“I don’t care,” the Delphox grumbled, setting down his stick before messaging his temple. “All of you just, leave and get ready for tonight.”
“Really didn’t think our rolls in the job would be that big,” Caspian remarked as the two exited the tavern.
“At least it explains why we were called here during… This,” Vernal said as she gestured to the streamers and other various decorations hanging from the nearby buildings.
“I take it you’re not a fan?”
The Sceptile lazily shrugged in response. “It’s not really my thing. It’s hectic and tends to make things more difficult.”
“Well we do have some time to kill…” Caspian said as he rubbed his chin. “And since you have no interest in the festivities-”
Vernal narrowed her eyes. “Whatever it is that you have in mind, it’s worrying me.”
“The festival’s main show doesn’t start until tonight. So we’re free to do whatever we want until then.”
“With you, that could mean anything,” Vernal remarked.
“Aw come on? I have a whole thing planned out for the two of us,” the Inteleon complained with big pleading eyes.
Vernal relented, giving a small sigh. “When?”
Quickly perking back up, Caspain held up his finger. “Well you see, the night we got here, I got to working on something. Which isn’t completely finished, but-”
“Where are you going with this?”
Caspian reached into his cloak and pulled out a small paper. “Just meet me here at sunset,” he said before running off.
Staring down at the note, Vernal skimmed over it before tucking it away in the small pouch hanging around her waist.
“Sometimes, I sincerely wonder how you put up with him,” the Zoroark said as he and the Greninja approached from behind.
The latter shook her head. “Honestly, it’s a miracle he can keep his mouth shut long enough to do his job in the first place.”
“And yet up until a week ago, he was a rank ahead of you two,” Vernal retorted, pointing at the bandages wrapped over their shoulders.
The Zoroark quickly turned his head away, visibly annoyed at the statement. “Whatever,” he said before leaning in close.
“Just remember that it’s blue, blue, red, purple. Then you’re up,” he whispered.
Vernal’s gaze narrowed. “I wouldn’t be here if I were forgetful.”
“I know,” the black and red fox said in a sing-songy tone. “But I feel like you might be bit… distracted tonight.”
Vernal sighed as she watched her colleague walk away, annoyed that the Zoroark can’t just mind his own business.
As the sun began to set, Vernal made her way through Mauve City’s downtown. She could see that wherever the city was celebrating was about to be in full swing. For as far as the eye could see, the lantern-lit streets were completely covered in brightly colored decorations.
“They work quickly, I’ll give them that,” the Sceptile thought as she walked through the growing crowd.
Turning and shoving past a sea of tails, shoulders, and wings, Vernal pushed through groups and groups of festival attendees before getting the chance to slip into a nearby alley.
“This is why I hate crowds,” she hissed to herself. However she couldn’t help but turn her head back after the fact. “At least no one seemed to notice.”
Reaching the far end, Vernal hooked her claws into the wall to her right. Scaling the brick surface, she tried her best to stay out of view from windows with lights or a lack of curtains.
“You had better have a very good reason for making me do this, Cass,” the Sceptile thought, ascending past what she counted to be seven stories towards the roof.
Pulling herself up and over the ledge, she gazed around, holding out her claw as she searched for where Caspian told her to meet him. With a running start, she leapt from one roof top to the next, the Sceptile’s eyes focused on reaching her goal. However upon reaching it, there was only a mostly empty rooftop waiting for her.
“Cass?” Vernal whispered, cautiously stepping around the large blanket sprawled out on the floor.
But as the next few minutes dragged on, Vernal relaxed her guard and found herself looking over the edge of the roof.
The setting sun’s light bathed the city in an amber glow as the activity below slowly picked up. Resting her elbows on the raised ledge, Vernal continued to scan the area until something caught her eye.
“Did he plan for this spot to have a good vantage point?”
“Well, we’re still on call after all,” a familiar voice responded. “We can’t be too irresponsible tonight.”
Turning around, Vernal watched the approaching Inteleon shed his cloak before setting down a wicker basket.
“But it figures the ever punctual Vernal would beat me to my own setup.”
A small smile found its way onto the Sceptile’s face as she walked towards him. “You could also try arriving on time for once.”
Caspian shrugged. “What can I say, there was a line.”
As the two lizards sat down at the roof’s center, Vernal dropped her cloak to her side. She glanced at the tattoo on her upper arm, a crescent moon beside a four pronged star.
“It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year already,” Vernal pondered aloud as her eyes then trained towards the matching one Caspian bore.
The Inteleon held up a finger. “Technically, the one year anniversary of our relationship is in two days. I just didn’t feel like celebrating it on the side of the road.”
Vernal rolled her eyes. “And in the two years that I’ve known you, you haven’t gotten any less annoying.”
“Two and a half, actually,” Caspian smugly corrected.”
“Like I said, annoying.”
Vernal smirked. “Or do all water types run their mouths as much as you?”
“Ohhh… She has jokes,” the Inteleon said with a grin. “I’ll have you know those are fighting words.”
“I’d win, and you know it.”
“If you could catch me, sure.”
The two stared sharp, unwavering glares as they loomed ever closer to each other’s faces. However their expressions soon softened before Vernal leaned in, giving the Inteleon a quick kiss on the snout.
Caspian let out an exaggerated groan of defeat as he slowly fell on his back. “It would seem as’t thou hast bested me in combat… Forever shattered is my pride.”
As he lay, his hands moved under his head before crossing one leg over the other.
“You ever just… stop, and look up at the sky?” he asked before Vernal overtook his view, looming over the Inteleon.
“That being said, I feel that our eyes should be focused on the ground.”
Caspian sighed and pulled himself up. “You’re no fun, you know that?”
Grabbing hold of his basket, he followed Vernal towards the ledge overlooking the street.
Placing the basket atop a crate beside the raised ledge, Caspian flipped open the lid before reaching inside. Seeing him pull out a cookie from within, Vernal peered into her side of the basket. Inside was an assortment of cookies and small cakes, all of which were laying beside a glass bottle, no doubt filled with wine.
“Of course you wouldn’t bring anything of nutritional value.”
“Oh, don’t act like you’re upset about it,” Caspian dismissed as he pointed the confection at his partner.
“And the wine?”
Caspian smirked, “That dear Vernal, is for after our success tonight.”
Night steadily fell over the city as the moon came into full view, its ivory gleam pushing against the surrounding darkness. All while the sounds of beating drums and loud cheers echoed through the streets below. Having once again adorned their cloaks, Vernal and Caspian sat side by side on top of the ledge. However this time, not a single word was uttered between the two.
Caspian’s gaze was fixed on the parade below, while Vernal kept a close eye on the first fireworks detonating in the night sky.
‘Green… Red… Red…’
‘Blue… Red… Green…’
‘Blue… Blue… Blue…’
“Still no sign of the guildmaster,” Caspian shared, not breaking his focus on the crowd.
“Hm,” Vernal curtly responded. “What about Crimson?”
Scanning into the crowd, Caspian spotted the Zoroark in a long, burgundy scarf, skulking around while accompanied by a Greninja in a hooded vest.
“He’s there. And so is Lazuli.”
‘Red… White… Red…’
‘Blue… Green… Blue…’
‘Blue… Blue… Red… White…’
Crimson briefly looked up at where the pair were perched, before he and Lazuli slipped into the crowd once again. For the next few minutes, Caspian watched float after float pass by as the sea of surrounding pokemon celebrated. It was then that the largest one thus far came into view, with a wreath of flame-like decorations as a Charizard proudly stood atop its center. The orange dragon smirked as he gave a strong flap of his wings before craning up his head.
“There he is,” Caspian calmly said, watching the city’s guildmaster give a mighty roar as a steam of fire spewed from his maw.
‘Red… Red… Blue… White…’
‘Blue… Red… Blue…. Red…’
‘Blue… Blue… Red… Purple…’
At this, Vernal and Caspian turned towards each other with knowing looks on their faces. It was time.
Watching the festivities from a large floor length window, a sandy colored reptile took a sip of the drink in his hand. While the Marowak was never really a fan of partaking in the night’s events himself, the atmosphere always put him in a good mood. Especially when it was the Charizard’s turn to capture the eyes of everyone in the crowds.
“I still don’t know how you do it, Vulcan,” he muttered before taking another swig of his drink.
“Though I suppose it is the guildmaster’s job to inspire hope.”
Watching the Charizard riding a decorated vermillion float. His head held high before spewing a stream of fire from his mouth in a show of power.
“Always one for the theatrics.”
Turning around, the Marowak made his way out of the building’s main hall. He glanced around as he made his way back to the guildmaster’s office, realizing just how empty the guild hall felt. But it wasn’t as if he was alone, as there were still those who lingered around the building. But the difference in the number of faces made things feel rather eerie despite the ruckus outside.
Pushing open the door, the now frustrated Marowak stomped inside the dark room.
“I swear to Arceus-” he huffed, grabbing hold of the bone club that was strapped to his back.
“Every time I try to work, these blasted candles go out,” he thought. He spat a small stream of fire onto the end of his bone, silently thanking Vulcan for teaching him this.
Walking towards the desk, he lit the trio of candles that sat atop its surface. Extinguishing his bone on the side of the stone desk, the Marowak placed it by the candles’ side before turning his attention to his work.
A brick red slab sat before him, along with a few sheets of paper lined with scrawled writing. Sliding one sheet to the side, the Marowak picked up a piece of charcoal and continued his writing.
‘As of today there has still been no significant changes in the Draco Plate. However, there has been some progress in finding the locations of the other plates via the translations of more recently discovered texts. Unfortunately, teams Eclipse, Forecast, and Vertigo have still not reported back on their search for them.’
Out of the corner of his eye, a faint, green glow caught the Marowak’s attention. Turning his head, he looked towards the corner of the room at a large chest sitting against the front of a bookshelf. Quickly breaking his stare away, the sandy toned reptile sifted through his papers. Pulling one towards him, he began to hurriedly write.
‘The Meadow Plate has begun to show activity for the first time since we came across it. However, it does not seem to have any correlation with the Draco Plate’s presence, as the latter has yet to show change. However from my understanding, in the past the two plates have shown a slight glow when in the immediate presence of a pokemon carrying their respective type-
“But there are no such pokemon at the moment…”
Looking back at the wooden chest, the Marowak’s eyes widened as a thought crossed his mind. A sudden feeling of dread filling the air as his breath hastened. His eyes slowly scanned over the large room, unable to shake the feeling he was being watched. Grabbing hold of his bone, he cautiously slid off his seat and stepped away from the desk.
As he made his way closer to the chest, the candles suddenly went out again as the door to the room slammed shut and locked.
Flinching at the sounds, it quickly registered that he wasn’t alone. This fact made only worse that he was in the dark with only the glow of the moon and the festival’s fireworks to provide any semblance of light. Lifting his bone to his face, he once again prepared to spit a small steam of flames onto its end. But as he took a breath, his prized tool was pulled clean away from his hand.
He didn’t hear the usual clacking sound it made when it hit the floor, which only put the Marowak more on edge.
“Someone’s here,” he thought, edging closer to the window by the bookshelf before he froze, a knot forming in his stomach.
“I-I’ll have you know that I am the guild’s second in command!” he loudly stated, hoping to deter whoever it was lurking in the darkness.
“So I suggest that you choose your next actions very carefully!”
Without saying a word, two figures stepped out of the shadows cast over the other side of the large room. A Greninja wearing a hooded vest, and a Sceptile in a dark green cloak. And while the former held his bone club in their long prehensile tongue, both of them wore white masks that possessed a cold, hardened glare in their eyes laying underneath.
Whatever they were about to do, they had clearly done so before. He was sure of it.
The leaves on the Sceptile’s forearms slowly extended outwards, sharpening as they became coated in a bright green glow.
“Grab the plates,” was all they said before lunging toward the Marowak.
However his aggressor found themselves knocked back by a burst of flames, courtesy of his Flamethrower attack.
As they stumbled back up, the Sceptile tossed their charred cloak aside as a visage of blades surrounded them.
“Swords Dance,” the Marowak thought, breathing heavily before remembering the Greninja.
By now the lithe, blue frog had the Draco Plate in their webbed hands, along with his notes. Quickly glancing between the two intruders, he made a dash for the desk, only for the Greninja to instantly roll over its surface.
A number of sharpened rocks floated around the Marowak as he used Stone Edge, firing them into the frog’s direction. But the Sceptile interfered, rushing in with Leaf Blade and deflecting each of the stone projectiles.
With one final slash, a sudden flash of pain overtook the Marowak’s form before his attaker’s clawed foot slammed the side of his face, knocking him hard into the wall.
“Get up Clay…” the Marowak thought. However, he could feel all of the strength he had slowly seeping out of his body.
A thick, wet warmth crawled down his chest like a blanket of tar. All while through increasingly blurred vision, he could see the outlines of his assailants moving closer.
“Whoever you are… You won’t get away with this,” the Marowak choked out as he pulled himself up from the blood stained floor.
“Team Eclipse would disagree,” the Greninja retorted, only for the Sceptile to hold up their claws.
The lizard gave a small, disapproving shake of her head. “Don’t. We have a job to do.”
“Don’t even- Eurgh!” Clay growled, stumbling forwards as glared at the two thieves.
Getting his second wind, the Marowak charged towards them, shaking the room as he used Stomping Tantrum.
But it was then Clay was forced to the floor, the Greninja using his boney head as a stepping stone before leaping towards the window, avoiding the shockwaves from the attack.
Colliding with the floor, he was quickly rolled onto his back to see the masked Sceptile staring down at him, only to then pick up her cloak and walk away.
Running across the city’s high up rooftops, Caspian held his hand up behind his head. Pointing out his finger, he used Snipe Shot, firing fast bolts of water at his pursuers. The Charizard and Staraptor had been relentless as other pokemon from the guild were presumably on Crimson’s tail below. And while none of them had been able to touch the Inteleon, Caspian knew this wouldn’t last forever. Sure his role was to cause a scene, but he had to act, lest he get caught.
“Come on, Cass. You’ve got one job,” he thought, glancing at the Staraptor in his peripheral vision.
“Now you see me-”
Caspian undid his cloak, tossing it back as the brown and white bird as they closed distance with him.
“Now you don’t,” he thought as the blinded bird crashed onto the alley behind him.
However, his progress was soon halted by a flash of fire detonating in front of him. Caspian turned back his head to see the city’s guildmaster himself, landing on the roof.
“The Night’s Eye Thieves Guild,” Vulcan growled, noticing the tattoo on the Inteleon’s shoulder. “Didn’t think you lot were brave enough to pull something like this.”
“So quick with the accusations,” Caspian smugly said with the flick of his wrist. “I was just here to enjoy the festivities.”
“By shooting bolts of water at me?!”
Caspian held out his hands. “Would you believe me if I said those meant for someone else?”
Vulcan snarled. “I don’t care why you’re here. But you’re not leaving this city.”
“It’s not my first time being chased,” Caspian quipped. “But surely a big strong guy like you can take me on your own, right?”
The Charizard huffed at the remark before quickly rushing forwards wIth Dragon Claw.
The energized visages of claws struck what Vulcan thought was the Inteleon, only for the lizard quickly to fade away. The real one, having run to the other side of the roof, turned his head back and winked.
This only served to further enrage the Charizard, who responded in kind with Dragon Pulse. Caspian quickly rolled out of the way of the violet colored blast.
“Easy there! I can only use Substitute so many times!” he taunted.
“Shut up and surrender!” Vulcan yelled as he closed the distance.
Caspian jumped up onto a raised pipe. “Sorry, I was on a date before this-”
He was interrupted by another swipe from the Charizard’s Dragon Claw, prompting him to leap again.
“You know how it goes,” he remarked, once again leaping away from his opponent’s clawed grasp. “Still got that stuff on the mind.”
Leaping towards the wall of a taller adjacent building, Caspian held onto the wall and waited for the Charizard to approach. Just as he hoped, the orange dragon flew straight towards him, Dragon Claw whipped out and ready to strike.
Leaping off the wall, Caspian twisted through the air and pointed his finger down at the Charizard and fired three shots in rapid succession. One for the bases of each wing, and one for the flame at the end of his tail.
Landing on Vulcan’s back, the two plummeted into the alley below. But it was the city’s savior who took the full brunt of the fall.
Pulling himself up, Caspain straddled Vulcan’s back and grabbed one of his horns. “I’ll admit… we all have our off days,” the Inteleon said between breaths. “But unfortunately for you-”
A barely conscious Vulcan then felt two fingers firmly press against the back of his head.
“You weren’t supposed to see my face.”
Opening a nearby sewer cover, Caspian descended a metal ladder into Mauve City’s depths. Landing with a splash in the ankle deep water at the bottom, he was met by a light and a familiar face. The Delphox from the tavern stared at him with a raised brow, seeingly confused with the events transpiring.
“Where is everybody?” Caspian asked, glancing around the damp tunnel.
The Delphox gestured his lantern towards him. “Surprisingly, you’re the first one here.”
Rubbing the nape of his neck, the Inteleon turned to look back at the way he came. He waited with bated breath as the next several minutes passed, until incoming noises from above got his attention. However his excitement quickly faded as Crimson lowered himself into the tunnel. The displeased Zoroark then tossed Caspian’s balled up cloak into his chest.
“You know the rules about leaving things behind.”
“Got caught up in the moment,” the lizard replied with a shrug. “Besides, taking care of things left behind is your specialty. Who am I to deprive you of that?”
Crimson narrowed his eyes. “If that includes the bird your rag was attached to, then thanks.”
Caspian gave a slight bow and held out his hand. “You are very much welcome.”
The Zoroark scoffed and shoved his way past him. However, standing up once again, Caspian found his gaze returning to the entrance.
A few more long minutes passed before more activity from above echoed through the tunnel before another splashed down. “Verna-” Caspian cut himself off, noticing a masked Greninja standing in her place.
“Sorry to disappoint,” she said as she walked past the Inteleon.
Handing her bag to the Delphox, Lazuli removed her mask. “I got the plates.”
Using Psychic to hold the satchel, he held his lantern over it and peered inside. “Good. Let’s go.”
The Greninja and Zoroark followed him, leaving Caspian to stare in the way of the entrance. The next couple of minutes scraped by as the dread of Vernal’s absence and the thought of the city’s guild finding her flooded his mind.
With a heavy sigh he hung his head, turning around before a burning feeling in his gut made him freeze. “Something’s wrong… There has to be.”
Running towards the latter leading to the surface, Caspian was about to start climbing when the sound of sliding metal from above made him stop. He slowly backed away, holding out his finger with an attack at the ready. The rhythmic steps down the latter echoed with the sounds of drops disrupting the stagnant water below.
Caspian could feel his heart beating each pounding beat in his head as the steps came further down. “Come on…” he thought as he tried to keep his breaths slowed.
Finally, a splash broke the stillness of the tunnel as a lone figure now stood before him.
Caspian leaned against the higher end of a tree as he stared out at the surrounding woods, having been placed on lookout duty by the others. “It’s like they know I hate doing this,” he thought, scowling at the near endless sea of flora that made up the calm nighttime ambiance.
But the Inteleon’s annoyance soon faded. It had been two days since the heist had come to a close, and despite the flak he took from the others, Caspian still hadn’t regretted his decision.
He knew that it was quite often members of the thieves guild had to leave teammates behind to whatever fate befell them, yet it still didn’t stop him from taking a chance with Vernal. Even after some of his colleagues’ numerous attempts to discourage the idea.
“At least I know this is what they meant now… Don’t date your coworkers, it’ll end badly,” Caspian muttered. “They could die, get captured-”
Dropping down from a higher branch, a bandaged Sceptile wearing a satchel over her shoulder gave him a small smile. “And yet, you still waited for me anyway.”
“The ever punctual Vernal,” Caspian mocked. However, his smile wavered a bit as he glanced away. “You’re late… Again.”
The Sceptile said nothing, glaring as she let her bandages speak for themselves.
“You know I’m not sure you deserve this after that remark, but-” She reached into her bag and pulled out a familiar bottle of wine. “-we never did get to share that drink.”
Caspian chuckled at the sight of the bottle he had procured the day of the heist. “I can’t believe you went back for that.”
“Well after what you did… I figured it would have been a waste to just leave it there.”
“How reckless of you,” Caspian teased with his signature, sly grin. That is, until his eyes narrowed. “Wait, how did you know I left it?”
Vernal grinned and rolled her eyes. “The fact that you’re asking me this now is exactly why.”
He pouted as Vernal used her claws to pop the cork off. “I’ll let you take the first sip if it makes you feel better,” she said as she swished the bottle in her grasp.
“It very much would, thank you.”
After getting a few swigs in, the two sat by each other’s side as they basked in the silence of the woods.
“At least we won’t be going to Mauve City anytime soon,” Vernal piped up before sipping from the bottle. “We left quite the mess there.”
“We got separated for the first time. I had to take my anger out on something,” Caspian said with his usual smug grin.
However, his lips soon pressed together as he narrowed his eyes. “Besides, he saw my face. What was I supposed to do?”
“Wear your mask like you were supposed to.”
“And deprive the world of this?” Caspian said, holding his hand before his grinning face.
Vernal raised a brow. “And?”
“I can barely see out of it anyway,” the Inteleon said with a slight pout.
The Sceptile stared at him for a while, giving her partner a knowing look while her sharp gaze pierced into him.
“Alright fine, I lost it. But I wasn’t lying about not being able to see.”
A few silent minutes passed as the duo sat in the tree, scanning over their surroundings as their hands slowly inched towards each other.
“Hey Cass?”
“Yeah?”
Vernal felt around the branch until her claws overlapped the Inteleon’s hand. “According to you, it’s been two days, right?”
Caspian sighed. “Well, I guess we’re not on the side of the road. Technically speaking at least.”
“Probably shouldn’t do anything though. I think the others are still a little mad at me.”
Vernal hopped down from the branch with the bottle in hand and looked up. “Then I guess I’ll leave you to your punishment.”
However as Caspian looked down, the Sceptile’s lips curved into a slight smile. “Happy one year, Cass.”
“And here’s to many more, Vernal,” the Inteleon cheerfully replied, holding an imaginary glass in his hand.
Turning back to watch the rest of the woods, Caspian stood up on the branch and crossed his arms.
“I can’t believe I let her take that wine.”
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